Smallshop
KNIFE MAKER
ENJOY!!Excitement is in the air!! Greg Reeder called me today and told me my Grinder has shipped!! WoooHooo!!
ENJOY!!Excitement is in the air!! Greg Reeder called me today and told me my Grinder has shipped!! WoooHooo!!
OK, so just Googled KBAC VFD and this popped up! Well I can't figure out how to get a screenshot to work on this but here is the search.
https://www.google.com/search?q=KBA...e..69i57.1884289j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
So on that search, there is 5 different units across the top and five different prices and more if you click on the arrow on the right side. So what are we looking at here??? What is recommended???
Also I got to ask what is the big advantage to a variable frequency AC drive?? I mean I may see some of the advantage especially with handle material but how much can you slow down grinding steel till you aren't really cutting any more!!
Now remember sometimes you don't know you are missing something till you get to try or see it in action. I saw one set-up over at Ken's in Bama but, didn't get to see him on it or try it! So I am really trying to understand what the VFD does!!!
There are a few applications where I slow the belt down slow enough to read the writing on the back of the belt when it goes by. VS is worth EVERY penny it costs.
The Grinder did not come with wheels, they do have an option for that though. The wheels I purchased are Oregon Blade Maker "Lightning Wheels" 5" drive, 3" tracking and 2" platen wheels. They are all 2-1/4" wide. The maker told me that these Glass injected wheels were superior to Aluminium in every way! I believed him because they were half the price and Oregon Blade sold both! REEDER also sent Brass spacers for the Platen wheels if you use narrower 2" wheels. I'm a couple weeks off but I will be ordering a small wheel adapter and the 23" arm for Large wheel and their sharpening system. All in good time. Just need to get it up running and practice!!There is a lot to like about that grinder! One thing (as silly as this sounds) that jumps out at me is the width of the wheels on the platen attachment. On my KMG, I have always thought the wheels were a little too narrow. The belt always seems to be rolled over slightly on the edges. Seeing these wheels on your grinder makes me think I need to make some wider wheels and see if there is any improvement.
You did the right thing, IMO. You can do 90% of whatever you need to do with a flat platen. It takes longer to hog off metal on a flat platen than it does with a big contact wheel, but you can still do it. A contact wheel gives you more options for contouring and profiling. A small wheel makes life so much easier for internal radiuses, but you can still do those without a small wheel.